July 28, 2008

"Who doesn’t risk never gets to drink champagne" (The very IMPORTANT kitchen talk)

I know, not many people would want to read my posting, but I really want some of you think about it. I'm taking a risk to shpil away about an old dilemma.Recently I came across the article in JewishSF, which is both interesting and controversial.

If many years ago Jewish women used to complain about a requirement to be a "Jewish shiksa", nowadays they consider non-Jewish men over Jewish ones. Is it the end of the tribe? There is no doubt, Jewish women are quite sensitive to a social atmosphere.

It looks to me, it's always about men and their egos. It's always about THEIR respect and disrespect of an honorable idea "to be married and be a family man". For women, it's ONLY about finding a RIGHT one. Let's think about simple interpretation of the "family". The very first thought, which comes to my head, is that FAMILY is about woman and man and their respectful relationship. Don't worry, I don't forget word "LOVE", because LOVE begins with respect. Somehow, living in DEMOCRATIC society, WE are losing RESPECT to each other. It's not a bold statement; it's an idea, which stirs us to a wrong direction. And as usual, it's up to us, if we want to follow this path or change a direction.

Now we just have to find out, how RESPECT works... (I welcome any input!)

Make a streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until fine crumbs form. Remove 1/3 cup flour mixture; place in a small bowl.

Press rest of the dough evenly over the bottom of a buttered 9- by 9-inch baking pan. Spread ricotta-apple mixture evenly over dough. Crumble remaining dough evenly over ricotta mixture; pat lightly.Bake in a 350F° oven until streusel is lightly browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Place pan on a rack to cool for about 10 minutes. While still warm, cut into bars. Let cool completely in pan.Яблочные пирожные с крошкой из итальянского творога "рикотта"

July 25, 2008

Recently most dieticians raised a question about healthy dressings. How to make a healthy salad with dressing? This dilemma might be easily solved with exceptionally healthy ingredient such as YOGURT. Here’s what I found about yogurt:

July 21, 2008

I just rolled out the dough, sprinkled with raisins, baked and glaze with my universal lemon drizzle..

Universal Lemon drizzle: 1 tbsp margarine, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 c icing sugar Mix together completely softened margarine with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the icing sugar.Make a thick paste, add more lemon juice to make a thickish but pourable drizzle.Here's a reprinted recipe from Rose Levy Beranbum's blogThis recipe was adapted from one that came to me as a gift from Diego Mauricio Lopez G. of Pandora bakery in Columbia South America after the publication of The Cake Bible in 1988.Equipment: A baking sheet lined with parchment, or sprinkled with flour or cornmeal. A baking stone or baking sheet.If using active dry yeast proof it. To proof, dissolve it with a big pinch of the sugar in 2 tablespoons of the water warmed only to hot bath temperature, 110°F./43°C. Set it in a warm spot for 10 to 20 minutes. It should be full of bubbles. Add it when adding the ricotta.Mix the DoughIn a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and instant yeast. Place it in a food processor with the dough blades. Add the ricotta, softened butter, egg, and salt and pulse about 15 times. With the motor running, add the cold water. Process 60 to 80 seconds but be careful not to allow the dough to get hot—i.e. not over 80°F/27°C. The dough should be soft but not sticky. If it is not soft, spray it with a little water and pulse it in. If it is sticky, transfer it to a counter and knead in a little flour at a time. After the first rise it will become firmer and difficult to shape if it is not soft. The dough will weigh about 2 pounds, 5 ounces/1048 grams.Let the Dough RisePlace the dough into a 4 quart or larger container, coated lightly with cooking spray or oil. Press down the dough and lightly spray or oil the top of the dough. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape mark on the side of the container approximately where double the height would be. Allow the dough to rise, ideally at 75 to 80°F./24 to 27°C., for about 2 hours or until doubled Preheat the oven to 375°F./190°C. at least 30 minutes before baking time. Have the oven shelf at the lowest level and place an oven stone or heavy baking sheet on it and a cast iron pan on the floor of the oven before preheating. (You can line it with foil to prevent rusting.)Rolled out the dough, sprinkle with raisins and roll in shaping as a bread. Let the dough rise until doubled in bulk about 1 hour. Mist the dough with water and quickly but gently set the baking sheet on the hot baking stone or hot baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath. Immediately shut the door and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (A instant read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 200°F./93°C.). Halfway through baking, turn the pan around for even baking.Transfer the loaf to a rack and brush with the drizzle if desired. Cool until barely warm—at least 1 hour.

July 14, 2008

Finally another report was posted on www.yahoo.com. Who could believe that our Plymouth could be the BEST place to live? The best thing, I live in this area.

No 1: Plymouth, Minn.Population: 70,100Miles from Minneapolis: 10Number of lakes: EightRank of its main school district: Top three in the statePros: Plenty of green, great schools, close to the Twin CitiesCon: A long, cold winter

Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut the pastry into six even squares and place on the lined baking tray.

Mix together butter and honey.

Spread 1 tsp of the honey-butter mixture on each square, leaving a 1.5cm border. Arrange the sliced pear on the top and sprinkle with honey-butter mixture again. Repeat with rest of the pieces of dough. Place in a refriderator for 30-40 minutes. Take out of refrigerator and bake for 18 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve warm with thick cream or ice cream, if desired.Открытый французский пирог (galette) с грушей.

There is a children’s song about galette:“J’aime la galette, savez-vous comment ? Quand elle est bien faite, avec du beurre dedans.” (“I like galette, do you know how? When it is made well, with butter inside.”)

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

July 06, 2008

Every time I say "I live in Minneapolis", someone pops up a question "Where is it?" This rhetorical question always gives me a bad time. How to explain someone who lives in a center of universe like NY, LA or SF, that Minneapolis is a city? Usually the conversation would be ended after this question.

Yes, it's a city and there is a Jewish community here. Unfortunately, it's a shrinking one, especially a Russian-speaking side. Looking for love, many people have already left a city hoping to meet a RIGHT ONE. Many people used to say: "If you want to get married, move to NY or LA. Definitely Minnesota is a wrong place."

For many years I could not find the RIGHT answer, but now I found. Today www.yahoo.com posted a very interesting and, even a challenging for many Americans info, about best places to build a wealth Surprisingly for everybody, except me, Minneapolis is one of the 5 top cities to build a wealth. Yes, I can live somewhere else, but I feel like a winner, who has the BEST argument against boring people, who is TOO attached to the labels and old standards. I think, after such captivating article many people should consider to move to Minnesota. Minneapolis could be a right place to build a Jewish family.

New York is worst city to build wealth - surveyMonday June 30, 7:19 pm ET

If you'd like to build a nest egg with your paycheck, it may be time to give up New York and head for Plano, Texas. A survey by pay experts at Salary.com evaluated 69 cities with more than 250,000 people and ranked the Big Apple last. Plano came in first among American cities in which to build personal wealth.The survey, based on census data and Salary.com analysis, focused on local salaries, the cost of living and unemployment. Secondary factors, such as diversity of the local economy, residents' education, percentage of population below poverty level and commute time were also measured.According to the survey, the top five cities are home to some of the nation's largest companies and have recorded strong periods of growth. Following first-place Plano came Aurora, Colo., Omaha, Neb., Minneapolis, MN and Albuquerque N.M.New York's diverse economy and highly-educated residents couldn't save it from sinking to the bottom due to its high cost of living and paychecks that just aren't "inflated" enough to make up the difference, the report stated.Following last-ranked New York were Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Honolulu and San Francisco.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan(or muffin pan if you are doing individual); using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Evenly spoon the fruit filling on a top. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over filling, beginning with edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes(the individual ones only take about 22 minutes…watch them closely). Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan or from muffin tins.